Electric system for railways.



N0. 692,8!7. Patented Feb. ll, I902.

D; S. BERGIN.

ELECTRIC SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS. (Application filed May 11, 1901.) (NoModel.) 4 3 sheets-Sheet I.

' Patented Feb. ll, I902.

0. s. BERGIN. I Y ELECTRICSYSTEM FUR RAILWAYS.

(App ljcation filed May 11, 1901.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets$heat 2.

No. 692,8I7. v

n. S.'BEBGIN.

ELECTRIC SYSTEM FOR B AILWAYS.

Patented Feb. ll I902.

(Application filed m 11. 1901.

a Sheets-Sheet 3 (No Model.)

E "cams PUIRS c0. PHomLrrHQ, WASHINGTON o r- V UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

DANIEL s. BERGIN,'OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 692,817, datedFebruary l 1, 1902.

Application filed May 11,1901. Serial No. 59,715. (No model.)

plan view thereof. Fig. 13 is a sectional view To aZZ whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL S. BERGIN, of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new. and usefulImprovements in Electric Systems for Railways, of which the following isa full,

.clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in which correspondingletters of reference in the different figures indicate like parts.

My invention relates to electric systems for railways; and my object isto providea systern which shall be so constructed that a certain andpositive contact may at all times be insured between the contact elementand the conductor regardless of'the variations in level between thelatter and the-car or between the conductor and the top walls of thecasing in which it is located, all of which ishereinafter moreparticularly described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view showing a portion of acar andconduit embodying the features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a transversevertical sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view inplan, showing the manner of connecting the electric insulated conductorwith the trolley.

Fig.4isadetailviewofoneend ofadrawbridge, showing a rheostat connectedtherewith for controlling the electric current. .Fig. 5 is a side viewshowing astream of water, adrawbridge,and an electric conductor beneaththe stream. Fig. 6 is a side view of a portion of a conduit and atrolley-carriage, showing the. manner in which the carriage adaptsitself to inclines. Fig. 7 is a planview in detail of a portion of athird rail, showing the meeting ends of two sections, one of which ismovable, as it would be upon a drawbridge, and provided with means formaking an electric contact. Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing therelative levels of the track and conduit. Fig. 9 is a plan view of arailway-track and conduit, showing my improved switching mechanism. Fig.10 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken upon the'line 10, Fig.9.

. Fig. 11 is a side view in detail of one of the switch electricalconductors, showing the manner of automatically cutting the same out ofcircuit. Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic tom by means of a bar 8, Figs. .-1and 6.

taken 'upon the line 13 13, Fig. 11; and Fig. 14 is a detail view takenupon the line 14 14, Fig. 9, viewed in the direction of the arrows thereshown. f

Referring to the drawings, (1. represents the body of a railway-car thewheels of which are mounted .upon a track I). A motor c,"Fig. 1, of anywell-known'form of construction, is adapted to propel the car receiving.itsc'urrent from an electrical-supply conductor, as

hereinafter described; Located beside the track I) and. running paralleltherewith 1s a conduit d, thewalls of which are constructed from wood orother suitable material, said conduit being entirely closed,with theexception of'a longitudinal slot 6 at the topand suitable openings atthe bottom to permit water or moisture to drain therefrom. Preferablytwo electrical-supply conductors or third railsff are located in theconduit cl and in case the bottom of said conduit is formed from metalare insulated therefrom by means ofinsulating material g. The parts wiseform the equivalent of the usual slotrails and will be hereinafterdesignated as such. 7

Rigidlyattached beneath or .to the side of h it constitute the top ofthe conduitand like- 1 the car a is a bracket t', upon a horizontal armj of which is pivotally attached a cross-bar or yoke it, having headsl Zupon theends, which heads are provided with vertical bores, into whichare inserted vertical guide-rods m m,

able contact or trolley carrier. Upon the bars having wheels q q r r,the former of which are above and the latter below the slot-rails h. Thebars m m are connected at the botconstituting a portion of the frame ofa movm are formed horizontal axles 0 19, said axles cross-bar s isrigidly attached to but insulatedfrom the bar 8 by means of insulatingmaterial 3 Fig. 2. Said bar 8' is provided with bores in its ends, inwhich I insert rods 75 t, having trolley-wheels u u mounted upon thelower ends thereof, each with the usual caster-fitting. Springs 0 areinterposed between the bar 8 and a shoulder of the fitting above thewheels, thereby insuringa continuous contact with the electricalconductors f f. The rods 25 i may be insulated from the surroundingmetal, in which they are j ournaled, by means of insulating material to,Fi 3, and the wheel a is connected by means of an electrical conductor00, Figs. 1, 3, and 6, with the motor a. Said conductor is coiled orotherwise constructed so that will yield sufficiently to conform to thevertical movement of the trolley-carrier caused by the relativevariation in level between the railway-track and that of the conduit. Asimilar conductor to serves to connect said motor with the wheel 'u/ tocarry the return-current to the conductor f. As stated, the conduit islocated beside the railway-track, and while ordinarily raised above thesurface of the ground it would obviously be necessary to lower it forthe purpose of crossing roads, streets, and other places where it wouldbe impracticable to have it elevated. In such places the incline wouldbe such as to render it necessary to make provision in the carriertherefor. Hence the reason for pivoting the yoke u pon the arm j.

Fig. 8 shows a diagrammatic view of the track and conduit, indicatingthe inclines of the conduit and its varying levels with respect to thetrack.

In Fig. 6 the conduit is shown at a considerable incline with referenceto the roadway. It is obvious that the wheels q q a r, acting above andbeneath the slot-rails, would always cause the contact-carrier to followand conform to the incline of the conduit, while the sliding of the rodsm m through the ends of the yoke 7t would permit said carrier to riseand fall to conform to the variation in level between the conduit androadway.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shown the conduit carried across a drawbridgewith means for conveying the current across a stream, while providingfor the opening of the bridge. In said figures, y represents the bridge,while 2 indicates an insulated metallic conductor laid beneath thestream and connecting the two ends of the conductors f f upon oppositesides of the stream. A rheostat 2' may be provided and may be cut out ofcircuit when the bridge is open and into circuit when it is closed bymeans of the pivoted lever .2 Fig. 4, the upper forked end of which isadapted to be engaged by a stud .2 upon the bridge. The result of thisconstruction is that when the bridge is open all the current ispermitted to pass freely through the conductor 2 to the linebeyond,while the closing of the bridge causes the rheostat to be cut in,thereby sending the entire current over the third rail f upon thebridge, which is provided with some suitable contact-springs-such, forexample, as f Fig. 7to insure a metallic connection at the rail-joints.

While I prefer to employ the rheostat as described, it is obvious thatit may be dispensed with, provided, as is usually the case, an excess ofcurrent is employed, in which event the current would be divided, onehalf going beneath the stream and the other across the bridge upon themovable sectional conductor, the latter current being of sufficientstrength to operate the car-motor.

In Figs. 9 and 10 is shown a slot-switch mechanism so constructed as tocoact with the usual track-switch, so as to actuate the two by a singlemovement.

In Fig. 9, b I) represent the main track, and d the main line of theconduit, while I) b indicate the track branch and d the conduit branch.The usual railway-switch lever is shown at N, and the switch-bar at I),the lat ter being connectedwith the usual split switch 12 The bar I) isextended beneath the railway-track and is bent in a U shape, as shown at19 Fig. 10, to extend downwardly upon one side beneath the bottom andthence upwardly upon the opposite side to the top of said conduit, asshown at b. Horizontal extensions b" b are formed upon or attached tothe parts 12 b", respectively, and extended toward the slot h, wherethey are pivotally attached, respectively, to switch arms d d, which arein turn pivotally attached to the slot-rails at d d, Fig. 9, said armsor members being countersunk in said rails, as shown, to permit thepassage of the trolley-carrying truck. The shifting of the track-switchserves to move the arms at 61 into alinement with the main slot or withthat of the branch slot, as may be desired.

In Figs. 11, 12, and 13 I have shown a means for automatically closingand breaking the electrical connection between the main and branchconductors. In said constructionf f represent stubs branching from themain conductors, said stubs being continuously charged. Sections f f areinterposed between said stubs and branches f f The sections f f arepivoted at f", Fig. 11, and each is provided with an arm f set at anangle thereto and provided with a stud f upon its free end, as shown inFig. 13. Said arm or bar is rigidly attached to the pivoted end of saidsection and is made of spring metal, so that it will yield laterallyenough to permit the stud f to engage with a depression in the side ofthe rail f thereby lifting the opposite end of the section f and holdingit normally out of contact with the rail f in the manner shown in Fig.11. The device is antomatically operated by the passage of thecontact-wheel, which serves to depress the section f as the car is movedonto the switch, thereby charging the branch conductor. A reversemovement depresses the bar f and opens the circuit. The metallic contactwith the section f and branch rail may be made by means of a spring f,Fi 11.

In Figs. 9 and let I have shown a'means for extending the conduit acrossrailway-tracks, so as not to obstruct the movement of thetrolley-carrier. The slot-rails of the conduit are inclined, as shown at712, upon opposite sides of the track, while the intervening portion Itis made flush with the top of said track. The railway-rails b are cutaway, as shown in ICC said figures, to provide for the slot and theunobstructed passage of the trolley-carrier.

While I have shown asecondary conductor in the conduit to carry thereturn-current,

it is obvious that it. maybe dispensed with and the return-circuit fromthe motor made through the track-rails. The system shown, however, isthe preferable one.

Having thus described my invention,zl claim- 1. In a system of the classdescribed, the

V combination with an electric conduit, a conductor, a car, a track andcar-motor of a ti'iol ley-carrier consisting of a frame in yielding,

connection with the car, wheels above and below the conduit slot formaintaining said frame in a constant relationto the latter, and ayielding contactsupported by'said-frame, substantially as described. 7 V

2. 'In a system of the class described, the

combination of a railway-track, a-car having, an electric motor thereon,a longitudinally-v slotted electric conduit having avarying level withrespect to the track-level, a yoke pivots ally sustained at its middleto a support se---. curedto the car, a U-shaped frame the ver-= ticalarms of which" are-extended through b0res-in the ends of said yoke, thelower por-,

tion of said frame'being projected intothe conduit-slot, wheels mountedupon eachof, said arms, one above and the other below said,

slot, an electric conductor-within said conduit and a yielding contactsupported by .said U-A shaped frame whereby the frame may maintain aconstant and positive relation to said conduit, and an electric contactmay be insured. i I

3. -In a system of the class described, the

combination of a railway-track, a car having an electric motor thereon,a longitudinallyslotted electric conduit having a varyinglevel withrespect to the track-level, a conductor located within said conduit, ayoke pivotally held at its middle to a support secured to the.car,-aframe consisting of the vertical arms;

on m and cross-bar 5', wheels 9 '1", located above and below theconduit-slotrespectively, a

yielding, sprin g-actuated contact inoperative connection with saidconductor and-means forelectrically connecting the same with saidmotor,"substantially as described a 4. In an electric-railway system,the com bination-w'ith an,electric-sopplyconductor,of l

a railway-track, a car, an electric motor there:

on-,;-a longitudinally-slotted conduit for said supply-conductor, acontactcarrierconsisting. of a depending framejointedly connectedwithpthe car and extending within the conduit, wheels uponsaid frame locatedabove and;be-- low the slot-rails of the conduit for. maintaina ing a:constantrelation between said frame.

and slotrails or conduit-shell, a yieldingiconiactelement connected toand supported, by

vsaid frame and means for maintainingtthesame in contact with saidconductor, substan tially as; described.

In testimony whereotI have signed specification, in the presence of two'subscrib-.-

ing witnesses, this 8th day of May, 1901.; V

,Witnesses: .7

D. H. FLETCHER, OHARLES"L..HINE.

DANIEL s; BERG NJ

